Man trying to settle fight killed by five in Ambegaon, Pune

The deceased has been identified as Vikas Pawar, 23, a resident of Shani nagar in Katraj

A 23-year-old man was killed at 10:15 pm on Thursday in Ambegaon Pathar area after he tried to resolve a fight between his friend and members of a rival group.(Photo for representation purpose only)

A 23-year-old man was killed at 10:15 pm on Thursday in Ambegaon Pathar area after he tried to resolve a fight between his friend and members of a rival group. One among the five assailants has been detained by the Pune police on Friday.

The deceased has been identified as Vikas Pawar, 23, a resident of Shani nagar in Katraj. “Pawar, his friends and the assailants lived in Shankar Maharaj road area but Pawar had moved to Shani nagar 3 or 4 days ago. Pawar was a part of a group in that area and the assailants were of the rival group,” said MM Salunkhe, assistant police inspector of Bharti Vidyapeeth police station, who is investigating the case. The two groups in question have had a long history of fights even for reasons like looking too aggressively at the rival group member.

For similar reasons, Pawar’s friend Sandeep Gejage, also in his early twenties, had got into a fight with the rival group members and it turned into a physical scuffle.

Pawar decided to mediate between the warring groups and so he called the members of both the groups for a meeting. “The members of both teams arrived with weapons in large numbers where as Pawar was with Gejage and another friend called Vikas Dhumal,” said API Salunkhe

The five men from the rival gang attacked Pawar with knives, sickles injuring him badly. The men then proceeded to hit Pawar with a heavy boulder from a broken traditional flour grinder which eventually caused his death.

While Gejage was unemployed, Dhumal worked as a delivery executive for Zomato, Pawar had plans of starting his own eatery.

Five men from the rival gang have been booked under Section 302, 143, 147, 148, 149 of Indian Penal Code and Section 4(25) of Arms Act along with Sections 37(1)(1) read with 135 of Maharashtra Police Act at Bharti Vidyapeeth police station.